Which 1873 financial panic began after a stock-market crash in Vienna?

The Panic of 1873 began after a stock-market crash in Vienna.

On May 9, 1873, the Vienna Stock Exchange suffered a major collapse known as the Gründerkrach, or “founders’ crash.” Speculative investment had surged during an economic boom, particularly in railways, construction, and property. When confidence failed, share prices plunged and financial stress spread beyond Austria-Hungary.

The panic soon affected Germany and the United States. In America, the failure of the investment bank Jay Cooke & Company in September 1873 helped trigger a suspension of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The resulting downturn was long and international, and historians often call the extended period the Long Depression.

The panic is sometimes identified only with the United States because of the New York Stock Exchange’s closure. Its earliest major stock-market shock, however, occurred in Vienna. The Long Depression is also not exactly synonymous with the panic: it describes the prolonged economic period that followed the initial financial events.